Unique opportunities await graduating seniors on Rutgers squad

Senior attacker Collin Scarpello will pursue a career in public service.

For the graduating seniors of the Rutgers men's lacrosse team, many great — and unique — opportunities await them in their future.

Have you every hear of a yacht brokerage firm? Because that is what midfielder Charlie Nicklaus wants to start up in the future. Nicklaus, the grandson of legendary golfer Jack Nicklaus and the son of Jack Nicklaus II, a renowned golf course designer, has aspirations of starting his own yacht brokerage firm, a future goal that not many college kids would set for themselves.

And then there's Pat McCabe, the 25-year-old defenseman who served three and a half years as an Army Ranger. McCabe joined the team as a walk-on in 2015 and served as a team captain for his final season on the Banks. And while his future isn't set in stone, the Kinnelon, New Jersey native plans on pursuing a master degree in homeland security.

And when you hear the name Scarpello, you might think of Christian Scarpello, the starting short-stick defensive midfielder. But he wasn't the first Scarpello to play lacrosse for Rutgers. That accolade goes to his older brother Collin, an attacker who specializes in the man-up unit. But he also isn't the last, as their cousin Samantha Scarpello is a freshman defender on the women's lacrosse team.

Collin Scarpello scored the first goal of his career this season against Penn State, in one of the final games of his career, one that could transition from field turf to burning buildings.

Working as a volunteer firefighter has inspired him to pursue a career in public service. Come September, he will take the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) test with hopes of becoming a New York City firefighter. He is also currently going through the New Jersey state police process.

"Public service is something that I think I'm definitely going into," he said. "I love being a volunteer firefighter. It's something I'll do for the rest of the my life if I don't make it a career. It's given me another perspective on life. Its helped me give back and kind of appreciate the little things people always take for granted."

For attacker Connor Murphy, his future is pretty set in stone. Head coach Brian Brecht said that he had a fantastic experience with an internship last summer and has a great job lined up on Wall Street when he graduates. While on the surface, that may not seem too important, but Brecht said that it has helped his play on the field.

"He is playing with house money right now," Brecht said. "He is enjoying being a full-time lacrosse player and doing extra work on his own and asking questions and watching film and it shows. If you put the time in, you will be rewarded for it and he is living proof of that."

Murphy's play has seriously escalated in Big Ten play. In the team's six conference games this season, he leads the Knights with 13 goals and 18 points. And in their upset win over Ohio State, he put forth a team-high 4-point performance.

Murphy's 13 goals in just six conference games match the total he had in eight non-conference games and his 40 points on the year are a career-high, easily topping the 29 he had as a freshman.

As Brecht pointed out multiple times over the final week of the season, this group of seniors can say they did something no other group has ever done at Rutgers. In 2014 they went to their first Big East Tournament and in 2016 did the same with the Big Ten Tournament, making them the first group to ever accomplish both feats.

But maybe more importantly, this group of seniors helped usher in a new era of Rutgers lacrosse. The team spent every week of the season as a ranked team and was the first Rutgers team to ever reach the No. 1 ranking.